Maximum Ride: Missing Moments
by Ksonic
Summary: For Max and her flock, there is never a boring day, hour, minute, second. So then, what's going on in the flocks' lives that we haven't heard? Is Ari learning how to spell his name? Is Fang missing Max more than he'll let on? Did Max II end up dying?
1. ARI

Again, like I said for my new Sonic the Hedgehog story, I'm in the mood for drabbles! And, since I'm starting to really like this series (thanks to XNight-waveX! xD), I decided to write drabbles for Maximum Ride! The genre's will mainly be drama/family/adventure. Anyway, enjoy, and onwards, march!

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Chapter one

A-R-I

_'A-R-I. That is how to spell my name.'_

It was dark down here at night. The young boy shivered, feeling alone as he looked over at the others. Max had Angel, Nudge, and Total underneath her wings, in a protective and loving way. He listened as Max breathed slowly, and he took a small comfort in the fact that she and the rest were still alive.

'_A-R-I. That's how I spell my name.' _Biting his lip, the boy reached down into the dirt and attempted a capital "A". It turned out a little crooked and looked more like a doodle than a letter to the boy, but it didn't look too bad. He tried the "R".

_'Why didn't Dad teach me how to write?'_ the boy wondered. _'Why'd he have to love Max more than me? What did I ever do?'_

The "R" looked wrong. Growling softly to himself, the boy smacked at the dirt and wiped away to crazed "R". Why even try? He couldn't write his dumb name. And he was going to die soon anyway.

_'A-R-I. Ari. What a stupid name.'_

A tear ran down his face, the first tear in years. The seven year old liked to believe that he was as old as Max; Max who never had any problems and was perfect and didn't look like a failure, like he did. He swallowed back a cry of anger. It wasn't Max's fault, he reminded himself. She didn't choose a life like this.

"Ari?" At first, the young boy didn't recognize the voice. It wasn't Max talking to him, he quickly realized. Which was amazing, because no one else ever talked to him. The others were way too nervous of him. "Ari, you okay?" He stifled back a retort. It was Angel. Why the heck was she saying anything, and to him?

_'You're the reason that Max's upset,' _the boy thought, ignoring Angel as she called his name again. _'If it hadn't been for you, Max would still have Fang and Iggy and the Gasman. It's your fault the flock split.'_

Another tear.

Another tear to the boy's already shattered heart.

_'Max doesn't blame you.'_

The young boy gasped. He hadn't put that message into his brain! He looked over at Angel, who sat up amongst Max's wings. Max shifted, but didn't awake, miraculously.

_'She took you in because she wanted to show you love. And if Fang can't appreciate it, then that's his problem.'_

_ 'Angel?' _The boy vaguely remembered that the girl could talk to people within their minds.

_'Yes?' _the child replied. She yawned on the other side of the room, and snuggled back into Max, thinking her work was done.

_'I…I don't want…'_

_ 'I know,' _Angel soothed. She closed her eyes. _'Max doesn't want you to die, and neither do I.'_

_ 'You mean it?'_

_ 'Yep. Now, try writing your name again.' _The girl showed a picture of Ari's name in the boy's brain.

_ 'A-R-I. That is how to spell my name.' _The boy wrote another "A" onto the dirt, followed closely by an "R" and finally an "I". Comparing it to Angel's picture, he suddenly realized he hadn't done too badly.

'_A-R-I. That is how to spell my name.'_

The boy smiled.


	2. The Art of Saying No

List: A crazed fan girl, and XNight-waveX!

Thanks for the review, guys! I love them you know! I think I've decided that with this story I'll just update it when I feel an idea on my mind. It won't be updated really to please anyone, I suppose (Sorry!). Anywho, this chapter is set somewhere between book six and seven… Yeah, this probably wouldn't happen, but hey, you never know…Enjoy, and onwards, march!

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Chapter two

The Art of Saying No

The sun was setting behind the canyons, and the dark-haired boy watched the hawks as the circled back down to their nests, their wings magnificent, their grace enough to make the boy's heart stop.

Almost.

For there was only one thing that took his breath away. And that was Max.

Max. He scanned the area, half expecting her to fly up towards him, half expecting to see her beautiful form followed by the rest of the flock.

But who was he kidding? He'd told the whole flock, mostly Max, _not_ to look for him. And he shouldn't even be here, playing with his heart strings. It was just too much emotion, as Max might say. He should be flying away from Colorado, where he had last seen Max, and he should be setting up camp for tonight. The sun was setting; he didn't have too much time. But something was keeping him here on this ledge, where he watched the last hawk nestle into its nest not fifteen feet away from Fang himself. He stared at the bird with awe, for it was his closest relative, way out here, in the middle of nowhere.

He wished he could talk bird. Then maybe he'd have a companion to complain to, to talk about Max to. For so long he had been wandering around the world, alone, his thoughts being his only friend. When people saw him walking along the streets of some city, he would be off again, into the wilderness. He couldn't take any chances of Max having the slightest idea where he was. He couldn't let her find him.

A sudden lone figure was flying towards him. Standing, Fang stared at the object stoically as it made its way towards the canyon, and stopped and landed on a ledge not too far from him. It looked like a very tall bird, with hands and feet like a human.

Fang gasped.

It was Max.

Suddenly, the fifteen year old boy was torn. Max was right there, right in front of him, scanning the area like she was in pursuit of something. Him, maybe? And he couldn't go out to her. Her lips parted slightly, and Fang grabbed onto the rocks by his feet, hardly recognizing that he had slid to the ground of the cave in his shock. She was right there. And he wanted so badly to get out of hiding and kiss her cracked lips.

"Fang?" The boy bit his lip. Had she actually found him? Max put her hands up to her face, ignoring the questioning glances from the hawks, as she again called her ex-boyfriend's name. "Fang? Are you out here?" She listened to the sound of the wind for a minute, as did Fang, who held his breath.

_Breath, Fang…Don't go towards her…_

"Dang it, Fang!" Max suddenly cried, and with his raptor-vision eyes Fang could tell she was beginning to cry. His heart launched into his stomach. "Fang, please!" she cried out in vain. "Come home! We need you! _I_ need you!" Her tears were getting harder for her to control, but she didn't try pushing them away as she continued. "Angel and Gazzy and Nudge and Iggy and Total…and even Dylan. They can't stand not having you around!"

There it was. The traitors name. Fang glowered in his hiding place.

"Iggy won't talk as much anymore, and neither will Gazzy. Nudge misses someone to ramble to…you know I can't put up with much of it. Angel can't stand knowing it was her fault, even though I told her it isn't!" Max's tears started turning into hiccups.

_Don't move, Fang…_

"And I miss someone to turn to." Max's voice was so quiet, Fang hardly heard it, and he blinked. "Dylan…he's trying. And I admit I'm glad someone's taking care of me in this whole mess. But, Fang…He's not _you_."

Fang couldn't take much more of this. Hadn't he told Max not to do this to him? He couldn't say no to her. He just couldn't.

Slowly, he rose from the ground. He wanted to say something reassuring to her, something like, "I miss you too," or, "I love you," or really anything. But if he gave away his position he'd be going back with the flock, and he knew it.

There was a daunting silence. Fang watched Max as she struggled to control her tears, and suddenly she had her wings spread out, and she took off into the sky, making Fang start to tear up.

"I'll be back," he heard her say, and then she flew off.

Hastily, Fang wiped away a stray tear, and turned back to his cave. He knew one thing: He _wouldn't_ be back until twenty years went by.


	3. Max's Confession Part I

List: XNight-waveX!

Thanks buddy! Glad you like this spontaneous story of mine. Oh, and in answer to your question, no, I don't think I did cry…no idea why. Usually I would, trust me. But I think I went ahead and already knew about it via online so I wasn't completely surprised…but anywho. Thanks for the review! Hope you like this chapter too! This chapter takes place in chapter 66 of book one, page two. This'll be a five part chapter; all the kids around except Max will have their own section on what they think of Max's confession of love towards them. Onwards, march!

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Chapter three

Max's Confession Part I (Fang's Thoughts)

Sometimes, the girl just tried way too hard.

He'd heard before, like on TV and such, that girls often tried to be the perfect role model, the perfect mother, the perfect wife or girlfriend. And Max fit into the stereotype well.

"I love you all," he vaguely heard her say beside him. For some reason his heart did a weird flip at the sentence. Maybe it was because Max was like his replacement _Mom_. Maybe it was because she was like his older sister. Or maybe it was something that he just couldn't place…

But whatever the reason, Fang looked down towards his sneakers, keeping his face emotionless as Max continued pouring out her love towards the flock. Shifting his gaze towards Iggy, he noticed the boy tapping his white fingers impatiently, and Fang allowed himself a small grin. So he wasn't the only one confused and embarrassed.

"I love you too, Max!" Nudge cried out happily, giggling. She wrapped her arms around Max's neck, and Fang forced himself not to think of how cute Nudge looked when she acted venerable and like the little girl she was. Or, how she was supposed to be. Shaking the thoughts out of his head, he allowed himself to look up again. Max laughed as the Gasman and Nudge confessed their own love, and then her eyes trailed towards Fang, looking at him with joy as she shrugged, as if to say,

"Heh, who'd have ever thought they loved me back?"

Fang didn't respond, verbally that is. Instead, he raised a joking eyebrow, the closest he wanted to get to smiling at her, to admitting that yes, deep down he was kind of glad Max had admitted that she loved each and every one of them. The girl wasn't one for mushy emotions, so this was good. This was very good.

Their eyes locked a few seconds more, and then Max turned towards the children again, her motherly look appearing on her face, and Fang felt at ease, for when she had that look, that usually meant they weren't in any danger at the moment. And besides, that motherly look always got to him. When she acted all grown up with the little guys, it got to him too. He didn't know why. Maybe… he admired girls taking on responsibility like Max. After all, he'd seen girls on TV and on the streets, and so many of them went though life without a care in the world. But they all had to care, all of them in the flock, if they planned to live. And Max had always taken it upon herself to be the one in charge.

He often wondered what it was like. To be in charge. Sure, he was second in command…

The boy shook his head again. Time to get out of his brain, he figured, and he turned to Iggy, who was just now looking up from the ground. Fang raised a confused eyebrow this time, wondering why the blind kid hadn't decided to try and get involved. But then Fang remembered. The boy was blind.

_'Someday Max'll fix that,' _Fang thought to himself.

-Such blind trust.-


End file.
